Balentien sent down; outfield picture still murky

Rookie right-handed slugger Wladimir Balentien was called into the office of manager John McLaren Monday morning and was told he was being sent back down to Triple-A Tacoma. Also sent to Tacoma were pitcher Jake Woods and catcher Rob Johnson

It makes some sense to the Mariners, because they believe Balentien needs to play every day and work on his game.

It doesn’t make as much sense to Balentien, who’d hoped he’d made enough of an impression this spring to leapfrog other candidates in the running for the last roster spot — players like Mike Morse, Jeremy Reed, Charlton Jimerson and Greg Norton.

But, as Balentien was the first to point out, ”I have an option left,” and the others don’t. Translation: Seattle runs no risk of losing Balentien (or for that matter Reed, who also has options), but the Mariners will probably lose whichever of the others don’t make the final 25-man roster.

Balentien wasn’t happy to get the news, but he said ”there’s nothing I can do about it but go down and continue to play good baseball.”

The 23-year-old right-hander hit .319 with three homers this spring after hitting .291 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs last year at Triple-A Tacoma.

”I said when the Adam Jones deal was made that some of our people think Balentien has a higher upside,” McLaren said. ”He needs to get ready for the Triple-A season down there. We want him playing everyday. He’s a young kid learning the strike zone.”